×
  • remind me tomorrow
  • remind me next week
  • never remind me
Subscribe to the ANN Newsletter • Wake up every Sunday to a curated list of ANN's most interesting posts of the week. read more

Forum - View topic
NEWS: Osamu Akimoto's Black Tiger Manga Moves to Regular Serialization




Note: this is the discussion thread for this article

Anime News Network Forum Index -> Site-related -> Talkback
View previous topic :: View next topic  
Author Message
Punch Drunk Marc



Joined: 04 Oct 2013
Posts: 1742
PostPosted: Wed Nov 06, 2019 8:45 am Reply with quote
This sounds interesting, have seen a few manga set during historical world events, but never one during the Civil War. Might check this out if it ever comes stateside.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Lord Geo



Joined: 18 Sep 2005
Posts: 2532
Location: North Brunswick, New Jersey
PostPosted: Wed Nov 06, 2019 10:42 am Reply with quote
It would really be weird if Black Tiger was to get licensed for English release before Kochikame, mainly because Osamu Akimoto became a legend through Kochikame. Obviously, I wouldn't expect us to even see anywhere near the 200 volumes of that series, but I've always wanted to see a "Best of" style release for Kochikame, similar to what Golgo 13 received.

As for Black Tiger, though, I certainly wouldn't mind seeing an English release. Sounds interesting, from a conceptual perspective.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
OjaruFan2



Joined: 09 Jul 2018
Posts: 659
PostPosted: Wed Nov 06, 2019 8:19 pm Reply with quote
Lord Geo wrote:
Obviously, I wouldn't expect us to even see anywhere near the 200 volumes of that series, but I've always wanted to see a "Best of" style release for Kochikame, similar to what Golgo 13 received.

Yeah same. I think it would be worth releasing KochiKame in that format here in the US.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
AutoOps007



Joined: 03 Jan 2014
Posts: 245
PostPosted: Fri Nov 08, 2019 10:59 am Reply with quote
There's no demand for Kochikame though. Sure, there are some people who think it's be nice to get some of it, but there isn't really anyone begging for it. It will always be remembered as simply a novelty series that had an insanely long run.

As for Black Tiger getting licensed, it's possible cause it's still early days. It's popularity isn't quite there yet, but hopefully that changes once we start getting regular chapters.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Lord Geo



Joined: 18 Sep 2005
Posts: 2532
Location: North Brunswick, New Jersey
PostPosted: Fri Nov 08, 2019 11:26 am Reply with quote
AutoOps007 wrote:
There's no demand for Kochikame though. Sure, there are some people who think it's be nice to get some of it, but there isn't really anyone begging for it. It will always be remembered as simply a novelty series that had an insanely long run.


That's a silly excuse, because we've received plenty of manga from Viz from out of nowhere. Were there people clamoring for Hoshin Engi, which didn't come out until literally years after ADV first released the Soul Hunter anime (& years before the Hakyu Hoshin Engi anime happened)? How many people were begging Viz to put out Oishinbo's "a la carté" release? Was Dr. Slump a fan-wishing force that Viz had no choice but to respond to? Were Golgo 13 fans threatening Viz to put out a "Best of" release of the manga, "or else"?

Of course not, but Viz still felt that they all had merit to them, because they are all iconic & important series, in their own rights. By your logic, Viz should have never released Oishinbo, FUNimation shouldn't have bothered with Momotaro: Sacred Sailors, Hidive shouldn't be working with Tatsunoko like it is right now, & Discotek shouldn't have put out ~70% of the anime it has released or will be releasing, because "no one's demanding it". Viz theoretically releasing Kochikame in some form, even if only a couple of volumes, because it's an important part of Shonen Jump's history wouldn't exactly hurt the company in the long run; they've had plenty of bombs, yet are still the biggest name in manga over here.

Also, calling Kochikame a "novelty series" is pretty damn disrespectful, because if it was nothing more than a novelty then it certainly wouldn't have run for 40 years, getting 200 volumes of manga, over 350+ episodes of anime, two anime movies, a 40th anniversary TV special (that hired Akira freaking Kamiya to voice the villain), literal statues of its main character all throughout Tokyo, & even a book which had the likes of Monkey Punch & Takao Saito draw their own crossover stories which saw Lupin the 3rd & Golgo 13 interact with the Kochikame crew.

"There's no demand for Kochikame", because it's literally never been given a chance in North America; it's a Catch-22. The people who work in the Shonen Jump division of Viz have admitted that they'd love to release Kochikame, because of its importance to the magazine, but its length has always been the problem. Unlike Golgo 13 or Oishinbo, there is no "Best of" or themed release for Kochikame, so Viz would either have to wait for Shueisha to make one first, or they'd have to coordinate with Akimoto to produce one specifically for English release.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
AutoOps007



Joined: 03 Jan 2014
Posts: 245
PostPosted: Fri Nov 08, 2019 9:26 pm Reply with quote
Lord Geo wrote:
AutoOps007 wrote:
There's no demand for Kochikame though. Sure, there are some people who think it's be nice to get some of it, but there isn't really anyone begging for it. It will always be remembered as simply a novelty series that had an insanely long run.


That's a silly excuse, because we've received plenty of manga from Viz from out of nowhere. Were there people clamoring for Hoshin Engi, which didn't come out until literally years after ADV first released the Soul Hunter anime (& years before the Hakyu Hoshin Engi anime happened)? How many people were begging Viz to put out Oishinbo's "a la carté" release? Was Dr. Slump a fan-wishing force that Viz had no choice but to respond to? Were Golgo 13 fans threatening Viz to put out a "Best of" release of the manga, "or else"?

Of course not, but Viz still felt that they all had merit to them, because they are all iconic & important series, in their own rights. By your logic, Viz should have never released Oishinbo, FUNimation shouldn't have bothered with Momotaro: Sacred Sailors, Hidive shouldn't be working with Tatsunoko like it is right now, & Discotek shouldn't have put out ~70% of the anime it has released or will be releasing, because "no one's demanding it". Viz theoretically releasing Kochikame in some form, even if only a couple of volumes, because it's an important part of Shonen Jump's history wouldn't exactly hurt the company in the long run; they've had plenty of bombs, yet are still the biggest name in manga over here.

Also, calling Kochikame a "novelty series" is pretty damn disrespectful, because if it was nothing more than a novelty then it certainly wouldn't have run for 40 years, getting 200 volumes of manga, over 350+ episodes of anime, two anime movies, a 40th anniversary TV special (that hired Akira freaking Kamiya to voice the villain), literal statues of its main character all throughout Tokyo, & even a book which had the likes of Monkey Punch & Takao Saito draw their own crossover stories which saw Lupin the 3rd & Golgo 13 interact with the Kochikame crew.

"There's no demand for Kochikame", because it's literally never been given a chance in North America; it's a Catch-22. The people who work in the Shonen Jump division of Viz have admitted that they'd love to release Kochikame, because of its importance to the magazine, but its length has always been the problem. Unlike Golgo 13 or Oishinbo, there is no "Best of" or themed release for Kochikame, so Viz would either have to wait for Shueisha to make one first, or they'd have to coordinate with Akimoto to produce one specifically for English release.


Ok, first of all I never said it shouldn't get licensed. Based on it's legacy alone it definitely deserves to be given a chance. I'm just saying that with the lack of demand being the main reason, it likely won't be get licensed until there is demand (or something changes with the franchise like a new anime adaptation). Of course there are other factors, but I was just pointing the big one (imo).

And I didn't necessarily say that was the way I saw the series; but for the majority of fans outside Japan, that's how the series is generally seen. The majority of the anime fans don't care about it. I've heard people say for years that the only reason it never got cancelled was because it was the last manga from the early days of Jump. Every time a series in Jump got (seemingly) cancelled, people would complain that Kochikame stayed over whatever series had ended. I disagree with all this, as it is one of the highest-selling manga of all time, but because not many people outside of Japan had ever given it a chance, sadly, that's the way it's generally seen. What I meant to say is, outside of Japan, it just doesn't have the respect it has in Japan.

As for those examples you gave, Hoshin Engi they were waiting for the Kanzeban that were released in Japan a year earlier, Oishinbo just returned from hiatus and was still ongoing, and Dr. Slump is from the same author of Dragon Ball, and Arale even appeared in a Dragon Ball episode (which was only dubbred a few years earlier at that point). I admit Golgo 13's case is not too dissimilar to Kochikame's, but it had a successful OVA releaed in NA (albeit a long time before it was licensed), whereas multiple Kochikame anime can't even get licensed. But those were all over a decade ago. The landscape has changed, and Viz are a lot smarter now when it comes to licensing than back then.

Also, yes Viz can afford the odd series here or there to bomb, but as a business, they'd obviously prefer not to. Yeah, they're always taking risks, but the reward factor for Kochikame is too low given it's ended. Viz obviously would rather put that focus on something ongoing that has potential to grow, even if it's likely it won't do as well as something like Kochikame initially.

Sorry if you got the wrong idea, but that's just the way I see it. Yeah, I could've explained myself better initially, but I honestly didn't think anyone would care enough to give anything more than my very brief, raw thoughts at the time.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
shosakukan



Joined: 09 Jan 2014
Posts: 290
PostPosted: Sat Nov 09, 2019 9:45 pm Reply with quote
Lord Geo wrote:
Unlike Golgo 13 or Oishinbo, there is no "Best of" or themed release for Kochikame, so Viz would either have to wait for Shueisha to make one first, or they'd have to coordinate with Akimoto to produce one specifically for English release.

Shūeisha has published the Kochira Katsushika-ku Kameari Kōen-mae Hashutsujo: Dokusha ga Erabu (Selected by readers) Kessakusen tankōbon in 1996. The Selected by Readers tankōbon is one volume, and it has 10+2 chapters. The Selected by Readers tankōbon is still in print.
Shūeisha has also published Akimoto Osamu Jisen (Selected by the author) KochiKame Collection in 1995-2000. (It is in the bunko format.) The 'Selected by the Author' collection, too, is still in print. Since the 'Selected by the Author' collection is 26+4 volumes, it may be a fairly large collection, rather than a relatively compact 'Best of' collection, though.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Lord Geo



Joined: 18 Sep 2005
Posts: 2532
Location: North Brunswick, New Jersey
PostPosted: Sat Nov 09, 2019 10:55 pm Reply with quote
Fair enough about those Kochikame "Selection" manga releases, as I didn't know about them. Still, with the manga now over, I imagine Shueisha will eventually release a true "Best of" collection, as it's now doable.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
Display posts from previous:   
Reply to topic    Anime News Network Forum Index -> Site-related -> Talkback All times are GMT - 5 Hours
Page 1 of 1

 


Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group